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Location: beloit | so I was at work the other day sweating my butt off and I saw a couple coworkers with what looked like towels so I asked what they had and it is a shammy type towel made by frogg toggs called a "chilly pad" you get it wet and it holds the moisture in for up to 4 hours. I picked 1 up at dicks sporting goods for $15. I used it and can't believe how well it worked, I won't be working or fishing another day in the heat without it.
I thought that with as hot as its been some people on here might like something to help keep cool!
http://chillypad.com/ |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | Awesome tip! Thanks! I work in concrete construction, and this mid-upper 90's stuff is killin' us! I just told my wife she has to go to Dicks and pick one up for me. 99 degrees, and a heat index of over 105 tomorrow.... Yikes. |
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Location: madison wisconsin | Thanks Feidler!! I sweat in a snowstorm. Work outside also. I'll have to pick one up!! |
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Location: North Central IL USA | JimtenHaaf - 7/20/2011 8:40 PM
I work in concrete construction, and this mid-upper 90's stuff is killin' us!
How do you stand that? Man, I was out for a few hours this mornig and nearly died! I was just wearing shorts. I'm sure you guys are wearing blue jeans, no? |
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| Your employer has the responsibility to protect you from known hazards, including heat. Your employer should be providing these types of controls free of cost! I am lucky enough to be the safety guy in a factory where the actual temperatures have been hovering between 90 degrees in the morning and 110 in the afternoon. We offer the cooling headbands which I believe is what you're mentioning. Some people use them around thier forehead and others put them around thier neck. We also offer cooling vests that are the same type of material as the headbands but in a bright green vest - would be great for you construction guys. Other than that, keep air flowing with fans or open doors and drink plenty of fluids. Water is good but Gatorade or other electrolyte beverages (like Squincher brand - used in industry) are what your body really needs. In addition, we have bananas available in the lunchroom for replenishment anytime. Employees also have the right to take additional breaks as necessary when working in the heat. The level of physical activity shall determine how often and how long extra breaks are taken. Here are a few of the products we use:
http://www.conney.com/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10102&storeId=50001&...
http://www.conney.com/Product_Summer-Heat-Stress-Summer-Heat-Stress... |
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| Put the cooling pad in the freezer at night and then keep it in a small cooler with either ice cubes or blue ice. It really keeps it at a temp that will cool you off quickly. Put it back on ice after you use it and in a short time, it is icy cold and ready to cool you down. This procedure kept it very cold for 10 hours on 90-degree heat on the lake for the past week. The same cash be done with a wash cloth but it does not work as well. |
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| really martin unless its a state or union law requiring breaks federal law doesnt require jobs to give breaks under any circumstances "although that would be a pretty crap job" :)p
ive never seen anything federally about requiring breaks in the heat... altho it should be a given i doubt theres any laws on it ...unless its state or job specific
same for paying for these coolers, most jobs will give you money for boots,tools,ect but dont really have too |
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Location: New Hope MN | If you guys are using it for work, can you write that off as an expense? |
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Posts: 1149
| Guest - 7/21/2011 8:36 AM
really martin unless its a state or union law requiring breaks federal law doesnt require jobs to give breaks under any circumstances "although that would be a pretty crap job" :)p
ive never seen anything federally about requiring breaks in the heat... altho it should be a given i doubt theres any laws on it ...unless its state or job specific
same for paying for these coolers, most jobs will give you money for boots,tools,ect but dont really have too
Believe it or not, I had an anonymous employee complaint to OSHA a few weeks ago (before the current heat wave). Although OSHA does not have any specific regulations regarding "heat" they WILL cite you under the general duty clause for not protecting workers from the hazard. I had to write a formal response to the OSHA letter telling them what we are doing to handle the heat in order to avoid an investigation. Go ahead, call the hotline telling them "it's too hot at work" and see what happens. Better yet, wait for a worker to pass out or go to the ER for heat related illness and see how quick OSHA calls. The first thing they will do is call AND send a letter inquiring what you are doing to protect your workers. No reason for me to lie about it, but thanks anyways. Here is a link to the OSHA quick card on heat stress. Look under the heading "To Prevent Heat Illness, Your Employer Should"
http://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3154.pdf
Anyways, the point being is the cooling products do work and they would work great in the boat as well.
Edited by MartinTD 7/21/2011 9:03 AM
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| pretty sure calling osha around most jobs ive worked at would end up with them hiring a new employee the next day and being told to just stay home lol... you can say this is illegal all you want but most states are at will meaning your not under any obligation to work and they dont have to have a reason to let you go.
but unless its job specific or state,union ect... employers arent required to give breaks. it says they should take breaks but i dont see any requiremts stating they must...
not fighting with you bout it man, any job that wont let you take a break drink water ect wouldnt be worth having  |
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| Guest,
The OSHA hot line is completely anonymous. We know an employee complained but in no way will OSHA give you the name of that employee. Even if they did, we are a union shop and it is NOT easy to get rid of employees when you want to. With over 300 employees, it doesn't even matter to us who made the call. The smartest thing to do is try and protect your workers as much as possible and avoid further OSHA involvement.
I'm not arguing either, just trying to tell you the facts.
Edited by MartinTD 7/21/2011 9:25 AM
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Posts: 283
Location: beloit | MartinTD - 7/21/2011 6:56 AM
Your employer has the responsibility to protect you from known hazards, including heat. Your employer should be providing these types of controls free of cost! I am lucky enough to be the safety guy in a factory where the actual temperatures have been hovering between 90 degrees in the morning and 110 in the afternoon. We offer the cooling headbands which I believe is what you're mentioning. Some people use them around thier forehead and others put them around thier neck. We also offer cooling vests that are the same type of material as the headbands but in a bright green vest - would be great for you construction guys. Other than that, keep air flowing with fans or open doors and drink plenty of fluids. Water is good but Gatorade or other electrolyte beverages (like Squincher brand - used in industry ) are what your body really needs. In addition, we have bananas available in the lunchroom for replenishment anytime. Employees also have the right to take additional breaks as necessary when working in the heat. The level of physical activity shall determine how often and how long extra breaks are taken. Here are a few of the products we use:
http://www.conney.com/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10102&storeId=50001&...
http://www.conney.com/Product_Summer-Heat-Stress-Summer-Heat-Stress...
my employer does provide the headbands but I don't feel that they work all that well, when I saw the chilly pads it looked like it was something that would work better for me and I can take it home with me rather than leaving it at work like I have to do with the headbands because they are work property. |
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| Where i work at the supply us with unlimited water & gatorade. Ice cream and chips(salt helps from dehydration also) if you want. They also supply us with head bands to keep us cool. This past week i have drank more gatorade than i have prolly in the last year,summer is the only time i drink it.
We had someone almost pass out yesterday from the heat. They shut the building down,called everyone up front in the AC for 15 minutes and gave us a lecture on drinking enough and staying hydrated. They really stress it where i work!!! |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | gregk9 - 7/21/2011 12:38 AM
JimtenHaaf - 7/20/2011 8:40 PM
I work in concrete construction, and this mid-upper 90's stuff is killin' us!
How do you stand that? Man, I was out for a few hours this mornig and nearly died! I was just wearing shorts. I'm sure you guys are wearing blue jeans, no?
Nah, no jeans here. It's tough some days. When the high humidity kicks in too, the heat index is getting close to 110. We just work through it, man. Keep your head down, go, go, go. And keep a water jug close by. Lately we've been going through at least 2 gallons of water per guy on the site. That's not including the Powerades that each employee usually has to himself as well. Everyone has a pounding headache before the day is done. We take 3 breaks throughout the day, too. 9:30, noon, and 3. First 2 are 1/2 hour, 3rd one is 15 min. |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | dtaijo174 - 7/21/2011 9:51 AM
If you guys are using it for work, can you write that off as an expense?
You can, but it probably won't get you anywhere. Every year, I spend money boots ($300), gloves, hats, glasses, etc. You have to have a LOT of stuff to buy before it does anything to your taxes. My brother claims a bunch on his stuff. He's a mechanic, and buys $2k worth of tool per year. |
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